Tenant Insurance – Considerations for Minimum Coverage |

Tenant Insurance – Considerations for Minimum Coverage

With tenant insurance rates are going up in Ontario, as they are for other types of insurance coverage, not to mention other challenging economic realities, it might be tempting to go for the cheapest plan possible.

As a renter, you might not necessarily think that you need tenant insurance coverage. Being insured is up to your landlord, right? If you’re unfamiliar with insurance for renters, head over to this post to learn more about what it is and why it is important.

If you have minimum coverage in place for your renters or tenant insurance, here are some things you might want to consider…

– Consider carefully the replacement cost value of your plan. Depending on your belongings, this may not be enough to completely replace what you own. Especially given the inflationary environment we currently find ourselves here in Canada. According to the Canadian Underwriter, the current replacement cost of an apartment (source from September 2023) is $50,940 CAD (excluding taxes).

– Another thing to take into consideration with replacement cost – what items are actually included. You might think it’s everything, but some plans exclude specific categories of items, such as jewelry or musical instruments. When purchasing your plan, it’s important to disclose specifically to the company or your insurance broker what items you own, so that they can ensure you’ve got the appropriate coverage in place.

– What if something happens that forces you out of your home for an extended period of time, such as when your building needs extensive repairs that requires tenants to vacate? You might think that it will fall on the landlord to ensure alternative living arrangements and to cover those costs. However unfortunate, a situation can occur where fault cannot be clearly determined in an incident. In this case, the landlord is not responsible and costs can fall onto tenants. Loss of use coverage is something to consider to mitigate this risk.

As you can see from the above points, tenant insurance (or any insurance for that matter) is not a one size fits all thing. It’s important to discuss coverage options with your provider to make sure that your plan aligns with your specific situation.

Check out this resource from the Canadian Underwriter to learn more: Are your tenant insurance clients fully covered?

Have questions about renters or tenant insurance in Ontario? Want to ensure that your coverage is right for you? Get in touch with us and one of the insurance specialists on our team would be happy to assist. Or head over here to get an insurance quote online for tenant insurance.